Foldable cup holder

Here is a nice print that was designed in-house and specifically to carry multiple cups of our Nespressos without burning our fingers. We know, it’s a first world problem, but a problem nonetheless and 3D printing solved it for us. Our intern Niels (who did the kick ass FLEX_Link chair recently) designed this foldable cup holder, which is already in heavy demand in our office.

We printed it with colorFabb_XT on the Ultimaker 2. Due to the heat of the cups, we needed a material with a higher glass temperature. Since PLA does not meet this criteria. Our range of co-polyesters would be more fitting and we chose colorFabb_XT, using the colorFabb brand colors.

After printing, a small M6 screw was used in combination with a locking nut to hold everything together. The printed parts stack up to a height of 15 millimeters, so a screw of at least 20 millimeters in length should suffice.

This design, due to its compact nature when folded, is an ideal companion during the summer months at festivals or during picnics. You can download the design on Thingiverse to make your own.

We launched colorFabb_XT almost 3 years ago at the London 3D Print Show together with Eastman Chemical Company. Eastman is our material partner for co-polyesters. colorFabb_XT is made with Amphora AM1800 and has a unique formulation for 3D Printing that features excellent properties : High strength and very high toughness, Odor Neutral processing, High Tg / improved temp. resistance, Styrene free formulation, FDA food contact compliance, BPA (Bisphenol A ) free formulation. It will allow the user to produce 3D printed functional products in a safe way.

Our range of Amphora based co-polyesters are perfectly suited for a project like this. In 2014 colorFabb teamed up with Eastman Chemical Company to develop unique grades of co-polyesters suited for 3D printing. Eastman Amphora™ 3D polymer are a low-odor, styrene-free choice that is uniquely suited for 3D printing applications. With Amphora, items can be created that are more functional, more durable, more efficient, and attractive.

So far we have launched four grades, starting with colorFabb_XT in 2014. Late 2015 we follow this up with nGen, our next Generation general purpose filament and a drop in replacement for PLA. A wide processing window and perfect reliability make this filament a very popular one in our portfolio.

A little over a year ago we followed that up with colorFabb_HT, a high-temperature resistant filament that allows for functional engineering projects that need lasting parts. colorFabb_HT is enabled by Eastman Tritan™ copolyester technology.

At last year’s TCT Show in Birmingham we introduced nGen_FLEX to the market, a flexible filament with a Shora A hardness of 95 allowing for functional and flexible parts to be printed.